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About 1,000 dry tons of <br />biosolids are delivered <br />annually to the mine (above). <br />A land clearing operator that <br />offers mobile grinding services <br />(right) supplies thousands of <br />cubic Yards of wood chips for <br />fhe m~neland reclamation <br />project. <br />production in <br />Summit County is <br />highest in winter <br />months because of <br />the influx of tourists <br />during the ski <br />season. <br />64 B~oCvc~e <br />Keystone, Frisco and Silverthorne - also <br />were coping with explosive growth. Summit <br />County's population increased by B3 percent <br />over the past ten years, making it one of the <br />fastest growing counties in the country (and <br />with more people come more biosolids). In <br />addition, ski trail expansions and booming <br />construction generated enormous quanti- <br />ties of wood residuals -well over 25 percent <br />of the county's waste stream. <br />Biosolids production in Summit County is <br />highest in winter months because of the in- <br />flux of tourists during the ski season. The <br />heavy snowfalls make reclamation work im- <br />possible in winter, and restrictions on ap- <br />plying biosolids to snow-covered land make <br />a holding strategy a necessity. <br />The need for a new biosolids management <br />solution and the accessible and plentiful <br />mountains of wood residuals awaiting recy <br />cling- combined with the historical succes <br />of the Urad revegetation effort -mad <br />biosolids and wood chips a sound reclama <br />lion alternative for the Climax Mine. I <br />1991, the use of biosolids became an impor <br />tant component of the reclamation plan de <br />veloped by Climax. The Snake River facilit <br />in Summit County was successful in reach <br />ing an agreement with the mine to appl <br />Class B biosolids in 1991. The other genera <br />tors were unable to come to an agreemen <br />with the mine. <br />In 1994, the remaining biosolids produ <br />ers of Summit County renewed their effort <br />to work with the mine. The costs of biosolid <br />management were escalating rapidly an <br />the facilities individually were facing hug <br />capital outlays for big ticket items such as <br />digesters, windrow turners and loaders. <br />Even used equipment carried high price <br />tags, and creative in-house design and <br />building equipment like trommel screens <br />could stretch budgets only so far. So for <br />both practical and philosophical reasons, it <br />made sense to forge a cooperative agree- <br />ment that would enable the facilities to <br />share resources when feasible and allow <br />all five facilities to provide biosolids to Cli- <br />max. Spearheaded by Zach Margolis of <br />the Silverthorne/Di11onJoinl Sewer Author- <br />ity and Bill Smith of the Breckenridge <br />Sanitation District, representatives of all <br />five facilities started negotiating with Cli- <br />max in earnest. <br />Although Climax was well aware of <br />the success of the Urad revegetation <br />program, the use of biosolids for <br />:. ~ reclamation had not received full in- <br />ternal acceptance. In 1996, Bryce <br />Romig, Climax's environmental <br />manager, established plot demon- <br />strations in order to verify the Urad <br />solution and to determine the best <br />application rate. He also showed the <br />~_.L.. use of biosolids for reclamation <br />would decrease reclamation costs at <br />. the site by up to two-thirds. <br />The producers, too, wanted to bene- <br />fit financially by reducing their oper- <br />ating costs and avoiding major capi- <br />`~ tal outlays. Romig was able to <br />demonstrate that even if the facilities trans- <br />portedtheir biosolids to the site at their own <br />expense, they could save a significant <br />amount per wet ton in disposal and hauling <br />costs while paying Climax a nominal fee to <br />support road maintenance and snow plow- <br />ing efforts. In addition, the cost of chipping, <br />transporting and storing wood at the recla- <br />mation site are well below the cost of land- <br />filling the high-bulk material. <br />One of the wastewater treatment facility <br />managers' concerns about the project was <br />the risk of long-term liability if Class B <br />biosolids were applied at the site. For that <br />reason, Silverthorne/Dillon decided to li a- <br />post biosolids at the mine prior to app <br />lion. The compost operation produces a <br />Class A material that is exempt from regu- <br />lation. <br />- After two years of intense but cordial <br />s wrangling, a mutually satisfactory deal be- <br />e tween the producers and the Climax Mine <br />- was signed in March 1997. A local indepen- <br />n dent hauler, Westvac Environmental Ser- <br />- vices (acquired by Parker Ag Services in <br />- Apri12001), entered the partnership to haul <br />y the biosolids and wood chips to the mine, <br />- and conduct blending and composting ser- <br />y vices. The consortium has been operating <br />successfully and this year, received a first <br />t place award from the U.S. Environmental <br />Protection Agency for the operation. <br />c- Capital cost savings to the wastewater <br />s treatment plants have been significant. The <br />s Silverthorne/Dillon Joint Sewer Authority, <br />d for example, avoided the cost of a $1 million <br />e dollar digester and now saves at least <br />NOVEMBER 2001 <br />